Apparatus for sorting and stacking biscuits and other articles



Sept. 25, 1928. 1,685,335

J. C. 'PATERSON ET AL APPARATUS FOR SORTING AND STACKING BISCUITS ANDOTHER ARTICLES Filed Aug. 4, 1926 v Patented Sept. 25, 1928.

UNIT D STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Jenn ounmnrunnson AND GEORGE RALPH BAKER, or LONDON, ENGLAND, SIGNORS TBAKER, nnnxms COMPANY mconronarnn, or. NEW YORK, 1;. 1,1

cnrzronarron or NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR SORTING AND STACENG BISCUITS AND OTHER ARTICLES.

This invention relates to apparatus for sorting and stacking biscuitsand similar articles; that is to say, separating said biscuits intodefinite rows or lines, and placing them on edge in a position to bereadily grasped or removed as for packing operations 1 The inventionprimarily embodies improved sorting means for positively and Y0efficiently arranging the articles in rows prior to stacking andcomprises a conveyor adapted to feed the articles to an inclined chuteprovided with spaced partitions inclined to the direction of travel andbetween which they slide by gravity in rows toanother conveyor whichpasses them between other series of partitions arranged at differentrelative angles which act to further align and arrange the articles inrows.

The first mentioned partitions act to direct rectangular articles withtheir longest dimension parallel to said partitions or generallyparallel to the direction-oft-ravel through the apparatus.

The invention also comprises other details of construction, arrangementand'combination of parts as set forth in appended claims and hereinafterdescribed with reference to the accompanyin drawings in which:

80 I Fig. 1 is a sideelevation of a complete sorting and stackingapparatus particularly adapted for dealin with biscuits; Fig. 2 is aplan view of Fig. and Fig. 3 is a half end view from the left of Fig. 1.

The apparatus illustrated in the drawings comprises a frame a supportinga conveyor or band 6 preferably of the endless variety on to which thebiscuits are fed in a pell-mell fashion between lateral guides c and onwhich they may be inspectedfor removal of faulty ones if present, andwhen necessary turned by operatives to present all the same faceupwards. This conveyor is suitably inclined upwards in the direction ofits travel and adj acent its end there is provided a device, conveniently in the form of a curved chute d, which will deliver thebiscuits in a reversed condition to a second endless conveyor or band 7,also appropriately inclined upwards second conveyor, the biscuits may befurther Application filed August 4, 1926, Serial 1E0. 127,117 and inGreat BritalnAug'ust 19, i925.

inspected and faulty ones removed if present. Thus both sides or facesof the biscuits are presented for inspection. 7

The biscuits are carried along on the last: named conveyor f indisarranged or disordered condition and it is necessary to align orarrange them in definite rows .or lines'in order that they may beproperly stacked, or readily handled forpacking. In order to effect thisthe biscuits pass over the end of the said conveyor onto a somewhatsteeply and; downwardly inclined board or chute 9 having a plurality ofupstanding ribs or partitions g which divide said board into-a number ofseparate paths slightly inclined or at an angle to the longitudinal axisof the machine. Said partitions are preferably; made shallow at the feedend. and deeper at or towards the deliveryend of the chute asillustrated in Fig. 1, thus causing any biscults which ride on thepartitions tov slide off onto the chute and pass down against saidpartitions. The said slo gpar-titions furthermore cause rectangu ar orfiat sided bisw cuits to slide down with a fiat edge against thepartition, usually reaching the bottom; of

the slope with the longest dimension parallel with thepartitions, butwhere thebiscuits are substantially rectangular they may be nearlybroadside on at this stage.

After having'traversed the, inclined chute g by; gravlty in themannerstated, the hiscults pass on to a further conveyorh again somewhatupwardly inclined, on which they are subjected to further aligningoperations by passing successively between other series of spacedpartitions i i 2' located above the conveyor and arranged at oppositeangles to one another alternately (see Fig. 2) for example, there may bethree such additional series of partitions, the first series 2' arrangedat approximately the same angle to those of the chute, the second series2' at an opposite angle to the first series 2' and the third series 2'at an opposite angle to the second series 2'. These further partitionsact in a similar manner to those of the board to arrange the biscuits inrows, and turn rectangular or square biscuits Where necessary to bringthem into alignment until as they issue from the paths between the finalpartitions 2' they are all being pivoted to two lateral bars 1;

res

in proper order with their longest dimension parallel with the travel ofthe conveyor in the respective rows.

At the ends of the final partitions the con veyor hpreferahly inclinesdownwardly'as at h and passes the biscuits to stacking devices which maybe of the kind disclosed in the specification of application No. 93,617,filed on March 9 19 25 by Hemming AlarikElfving; such devices includingfor each row a paddle orbuclret cage wheel adapted to collect thebiscuits and transfer them to a stacking table Z? on edge between spacedguides Z. The invention however may be used with a ny other convenientarrangement for stacking the biscuits or where biscuits are required tobe arranged in any other convenient rowsv or stacks;

he invention however contemplates spacing said guides Z at distancesapart suilieient to accommodate the largest size-of hiscuits, and alsocontemplates the provision of 7 means for adjusting the distance betweenthe guldes according to the particular size being dealt with at thetimesuch adjusting means embodying; for example, cross rods Z whereonguides Z are mounted these-rods being movable in opposite directions dueto their 72 which are themselves pivoted at Z i, Z the said bars beingrocked and the rods adjusted by means of a handlever Z having a pointerworking over a scale Z graduated according to the various sizes ofbiscuits veyors 6 f and h are carried by suitable guid- An a)robriateimeans for mountin and driving the movable oradjustable'partsfot the apparatus may be adopted, forexample asshown in thedrawingsm which the con ing and driving pulleys, certain of'which arein'the form of 'oclreys having devices 5?,

and h respectively for ten'sioning' purposes =The conveyors may bedriven from a main shaft m through gearing-'m 'm? and chain and sprocketor heltand pulley gear n; m,- a respectively. Other chain and sprocketor belt and pulley gear 0 0 also driven from the main shaft effectsthedrive of the stacking bucket wheels The partitions 2', i 2' may alsobe mounted as to the first series rigidly on a cross bar 19 in fixedrelation to the partitions of the chute gand as to the two followingseries adjustablyon cross bars qwhich are themselves adjust-ably mountedon the "adjustment by thumb nuts Q \VQ1klllg through slotted brackets 7What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States v V V V 1. Apparatus "for sorting biscuits and otherarticles comprising a conveyor adapted to feed the articles to aninclined ehuteprovided with spaced partitions inclined to the direction01? travel and between which the articles slide by gravity in rows, anda second conveyor receiving the articlesi'rom-the chuteand "from whichthey pass between other series of partitions arranged at diiierentrelative angles which act to further align and arrange the articles inrows.

2. ,AppillfftillS according ta claim 1 in which the chute partitions areshallow at the feed end and deeper at-or towards the delivery end, saidpart iions acting to direct rectangular articles with their longestdimensions parallel to said partitions or generally parallel to the lineof travelthroughthe apparatus'. v "1 7 a 1 3. Apparatus according toclaim 1 in which, of the partitions followingthe chute,

the first series'are at substantially. the same angle as-those of thechute, whilst following series are'atalternately opposite angles andmeans for adjusting the degree ofangularity of certain of saidpartitions.

,In witness. whereof we have signed this specification. I t v i i JOHNCURB-IE PATERSON. RALPH BAKE B.

